1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus by which during the continuous treatment of a cloth, a treating solution is applied thereto and the operation of exchanging the treating solutions can be done in a rapid and effective manner with a minimum loss of the treating solution.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
In subjecting a long, commercially produced cloth to such treatments as pretreatment and dyeing continuously, the first step is to soak the cloth with a treating solution (for instance, a caustic alkali solution in pretreatment and a dye solution in dyeing). This is usually done with the use of a treating solution tank. The cloth is then wet-heat treated in a steamer under either the ordinary atmospheric pressure or an elevated pressure.
In the continuous treatment of a long cloth, it is often required to subject the cloth to a foreign body or a different color treatment for each prescribed length of cloth. The color treatment involves the dyeing of each of said long cloths, a different color, depending on the prescribed length of the cloth itself. However, with such a color dyeing process, each time the dye solution is exchanged in the treating solution tank, the transportation of the cloth through the treating solution tank and, accordingly in the steamer, must be interrupted for the purpose of washing said treating solution tank. The operation is then reopened after a new dye solution is charged into the treating solution tank. During the course of interrupting and reopening the operation, the wet-heat treating condition of the interior of the steamer body changes frequently and accordingly it is impossible to carry out a uniform dyeing process of a long cloth. The interruption of the operation also causes a reduction in productivity. The conventional treating solution tank is usually of a U-shaped in its cross section and has a cloth guide roller provided therein for the purpose of transporting the cloth. The cloth soaked with the treating solution therein is squeezed with the use of a squeeze roller used for controlling the amount of treating solution which adheres to the cloth. Since there is usually a large space between the wall of the treating solution tank and the cloth guide roller provided therein, a large amount of the treating solution is left over in the tank as a result of the process of the treating solution. The remaining treating solution therefore, must be unavoidably abandoned, and is thus, uneconomical.